A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Social Engineering

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The bi-annual
Midwest Agudah Convention was held in a Chicago suburb over the weekend. I was unfortunately
unable to attend. But I have been told what some of the discussion was about.
And it was no surprise to me that one of those subjects was about what is
happening in Israel. I fully expected that
to be the case.

One of the
speakers who is a member of the Agudah Moetzes made the claim that the Israeli
government’s attempt to draft Charedi Yeshiva students into the army and all
the other things they are planning to do to is nothing
more than a cynical attempt at social engineering.

I’ve heard it
so many times: ‘Drafting Yeshiva students into the army has nothing to do with military
need.’ This fact is used as proof that the government is out to destroy the
Charedi world. Which Charedim define as the sum totality of Yiddishkeit. Everything else is secondary (B’Dieved) or
ancillary. A world without Charedism is a world without Torah. This is why they
call it a Shas Shmad.

What about
Yeshivos Hesder or the various versions of Nachal Charedi? Not good
enough. Those are all B’Dieved at best! The
ideal of full time Torah study for everyone for as long as possible is the only
thing that is recognized as God’s primary path for us.

I find it
curious that they use the term social engineering in a pejorative manner. Because
Charedim have been doing exactly that for the nearly seven decades since the Holocaust!

Social
engineering is the psychological manipulation of a group of people into doing
things they otherwise might not do. The Charedi world that I grew up in was very different than it is today. My formal religious education began in the mid 1950s in
Detroit’s Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. This was
an Agudah oriented Yeshiva led by pioneering educators sent by Torah VoDaath
Rosh HaYeshiva, R’ Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz. Although the term Charedi was not
in use then, this day school was clearly in that category.

But the
Charedi world then looked nothing like it does now. There were no black hats then.
The clothing worn by the students in both elementary and high school those days
were not black pants and white shirts but the same as everyone else’s. The idea
of full time Torah study was not pushed on everyone. It was reserved for the
few who had the intelligence, drive, and desire to do it. Everyone else was
expected to become a Frum Bal HaBos (layman) and support his family. Although Torah
study was clearly advocated as a most important Mitzvah it was never promoted
as the only Derech (path) for a Ben Torah to the exclusion of all else.

The
community Kollel did not exist. Lakewood Yeshiva was in its infancy. And even
its founder, R’ Aharon Kotler never expected it to become what it is today. All he wanted to do was recreate intact – the European
model. Which consisted of an elite group of students that would dedicate
themselves to full time Torah study.

What has
happened since then can only be defined as social engineering. Somehow Lakewood
became the model for every single student in every single Yeshiva in America.
No one was forced to think this way. But psychological pressure has resulted in the world we live in today. A world that was socially engineered by Mechanchim
who saw R’ Aharon Kotler’s Hashkafos of full time Torah study as the utmost
fulfillment of the word of God – and implanted that idea into the brains of their
students.

The Charedi metamorphosis
in Israel was quite similar. But it had some additional baggage which made the their
lifestyles even more married to this ideal. When the Chazon Ish and Ben Gurion agreed to exempt full time
Yeshiva students, the numbers were indeed small representing the elite of elite
in Charedi Israel. They numbered in the hundreds. There is also the fact that
the Chazon Ish (with some justification) saw the draft destroying that small community
of Torah students -thus destroying the very concept of full time Torah study. He
felt (again with some justification) that the mindset of those early pioneers was
to assimilate all factions of Jews into a prototypical Israeli – which did not necessarily
include being observant. The Chazon Ish rightly believed that this agreement saved
the system from extinction.

But it did a
lot more than just that. It socially
engineered a society whose reaction to the government today is based on the
fears of the past – fears that are no longer valid. At least not anywhere near
to the extent that they once were. While it’s true that there are those in the
government that would love to destroy the Charedi world in its entirety – it has
long been the case that it is not so. The government as a whole is no longer
interested in that and see it as an impossible goal in any case.

All they
want is for the exponentially growing Charedi world to become more contributory
to the state’s welfare and to become more self sufficient. There is no real attempt
by anyone to destroy a single Yeshiva
despite their protestation to the contrary. The opposite is true. They are
happy to leave this world as is - provided they accomplish those two things. If
this were not the case, there would be no Nachal Charedi in any of its
incarnations. And Charedi schools would not get a dime even if they had a core
secular curriculum. But the facts prove otherwise. Shas, the Sephardi political party founded by Rav Ovadia
Yosef ZTL, has agreed to that mandate and will therefore be fully funded.

If this is
social engineering, I am in favor of it. The claim made in Agudah may be a
valid one. The government of Israel is trying to socially engineer change. But
the change is for the better. If
social engineering was valid when Charedim employed it – it is just as valid now because
it will produce a change for the better. A change that is sorely needed without requiring even the
slightest change in the Hashkafos they teach their young or the lifestyles they will lead.

The Sephardi
community realizes it. And I would be willing to bet that in their heart of
hearts many members of the Agudah Moetzes in America know that too. Including
the speaker at that convention.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.